Hippo To The Rescue

Hippos kill more people in Africa than any other large animal.

They are very dangerous and can be extremely aggressive; yet they sometimes display an amazing gentle side to their nature...There have been a number of accounts of them rescuing other animals that are in distress!

The latest incredible drama happened recently in Tanzania. The rescue was witnessed and video taped by Tom Yule, a South African working in Tanzania as manager for Grumeti Expeditions. He and a tour group were watching the Wildebeest and Zebra migration across the Mara River.

At a certain time every year there is a great migration of wildebeest and zebra across certain areas  - it is one of the greatest spectacles in the natural world. One of the big obstacles in the migrating animals' way is the Mara River. In October this year the river was flowing very strongly as there had been recent heavy rains.

While Tom Yule and the other people in the group were watching the animals crossing the river, they saw a wildebeest calf swept downstream by the strong current. A hippopotamus in the river immediately went after the little wildebeest and placing itself on the downstream side of the calf, nudged it with it's snout and kept it above the water until it could get to the other side and join the rest of the herd. :)

That wasn't the end of the incredible "drama" - a few minutes later a zebra foal was swept away by the water and straight away the hippo went after it and helped it to the opposite side like it had done before. The foal managed to get onto a little rock island very close to the bank but the poor little thing was so exhausted by this time that it just stood there panting.

The hippo then got out of the water and nudged the foal from behind, even gently giving it a little bite at the back to get it moving. The foal moved off the rock across the channel to the opposite bank and then ran off to join the rest of the herd again. :)

Here is the YouTube video:


Isn't God's creation wonderful!!!

The Trees Are Raining!

It's that time of the year again when we have the "Raining Tree" season. For anyone not familiar with this, it can seem quite mysterious and sometimes be annoying! In the evening certain trees start dripping water - though there may not be a sign of a cloud in the sky and it only "rains" puddles under the tree!

Sometimes you can hear the drops falling on the paving or on leaves or flowers that are lying on the ground. If you are standing nearby, you will also have it raining on you! It can be a puzzle!! :-?

Actually it's not the tree but a small insect that causes the "rain"! It's the nymph of Ptyelus grossus, (much easier called a  froghopper).To protect themselves from the sun the nymphs cover themselves with a foamy substance.



The insects get nourishment by piercing the bark of the tree with their mouthparts and sucking up the sap at a fast pace. They then eject almost pure water just as fast, and this drips from the tree to form pools on the ground below.
Although froghoppers are found in many other places in the world, many African people are very superstitious of trees that "rain" and there are lots of stories about them.

The area where we are staying, (including our garden), has a lot of trees that are used by these insects, so we often have to dodge the "raindrops". I had to laugh when I read about a man who was really complaining about the raining trees. He said that not long after he moved house, he discovered that the large tree outside the backdoor (and it towers over the washing line, as well), was a rain tree and that it dripped so much that everytime he and his wife went outside they had to use umbrellas when passing under the tree to get to the car! He was very upset and longed to chop the tree down, but they were only renting the house so the tree had to stay - to the froghoppers delight, I'm sure! :D

The "Rain Tree" in our garden.